Importing industrial equipment
The quoted price is rarely the landed cost.
Landed cost, not equipment price
- Ex-works equipment price and export packing.
- Inland transport to the port, ocean or air freight, insurance.
- Customs duties, import taxes, port and handling charges, inland transport to site.
- Inspection, certification and documentation costs where required.
- Installation, commissioning and travel costs for the supplier's technicians.
- Financing cost across the payment schedule and any letter-of-credit charges.
Incoterms decide who carries what
EXW places almost everything on the buyer. FOB transfers risk at the port of loading. CIF includes freight and insurance to the destination port but not customs or inland delivery. DAP delivers to the site but usually excludes import clearance.
The frequent mistake is comparing an EXW offer against a CIF offer as if they were the same number. Convert every offer to one common delivery point before evaluating.
Documentation and inspection
Typical export documentation includes the proforma and commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, certificate of origin, and any certificate of conformity or inspection report the destination country requires.
For high-value packages, a pre-shipment inspection or a factory acceptance test attended by the buyer or an appointed third party is the practical control point — after shipment, remedies become slow and expensive.
After-sales is part of the purchase
Service response time, spare-parts availability, remote diagnostics and the presence of a local agent should be evaluated at quotation stage, not discovered during the first breakdown.
Frequently asked
Does Global B2B Group provide customs or legal advice?+
No. Duty rates, import licensing and clearance rules are jurisdiction-specific and change. The guidance here is general procurement practice; confirm the specifics with a licensed customs broker or adviser in the destination country.
Which Incoterm is best for industrial equipment?+
There is no universally best term. Buyers with strong local logistics often prefer FOB; buyers who want a single accountable counterparty often prefer CIF or DAP. What matters most is that all offers are quoted on the same term.
EXW, FOB, CIF, DAP — who carries which cost and which risk.
Freight, installation, energy, spares, downtime and financing cost.
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